Bartholomae

David Bartholomae´s main ideas in ¨Writing Assignments: Where Writing Begins" all have to do with the best way to teach students to compose, by starting with the process of composing. One big idea is that students should be free to discover topics of interest on their own and not just be assigned to write. Another idea of his is that writers develop their ideas after writing has begun; they can't just come up with something to write about, or find their point or arguement, until they begin to write. The point of this is that you don't always know how you really feel about something until after you have started to talk or write about it. Another big idea is that students constantly need support and that writing is a constant, on-going process that cannot just be done once for a grade. Students need assistance and interference while developing their writing.

Bartholomae wants writers to learn is that writing requires a repeated and on-going effort (quoting him here) and that writing cannot simply be taught, only the process of writing.

Nothing is really odd or surprising in what he writes, but I think I need to work on developing some ideas on how I can teach this way to my future students. How can I make them think about writing, or  the process, in this way? That will be somewhat of a challenge, but one I am willing to accept. I also need to take what I've learned from Bartholomae and apply it to my paper. We have pretty much followed his ideas throughout the semester and have been taking the composing process one piece at a time. What I need to do is make sure that my paper includes my own thoughts and ideas about the subject matter.